The present invention relates to hydrides, and more particularly to a hydride assembling system, as well as a method of making a hydride batch.
Hydrides have many uses and are formed in various configurations. They are typically constructed by inserting a wire into a tube to form a tube assembly. The tube assembly is immersed in a hydrogen atmosphere and heated to a temperature above an ambient temperature. In the elevated temperature environment, the wire absorbs the hydrogen, thus becoming a hydrided material. At typical ambient temperatures, hydrogen is trapped in the hydride material, but as the ambient temperature increases, the hydrided material outgases the hydrogen and increases the pressure in a surrounding volume. Such a characteristic is useful in certain applications, such as fire detection systems, for example.
The assembly process commonly entails sealing one end of the tube assembly and introducing hydrogen to the other end in the heated condition. Unfortunately, such a process may lead to substantial non-uniformity of the hydrogen distribution along the length of the tube assembly. Additionally, by forming each hydride segment of a batch in an individual manner, the process is often slow and imprecise.